Inaugural address / by Sir Joseph Fayrer.

  • Fayrer, Sir Joseph, 1824-1907.
Date:
[1898]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Inaugural address / by Sir Joseph Fayrer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Departments of the Navy, the Army, and the Local Govern- ment Board, the Army Sanitary Committee, the Royal Institute of Public Health, many municipal and rural Health Societies, and Societies of Medical Officers of Health, are actively em- ployed in extending the practical application of the knowledge imparted by the various educational institutions as well as by individual research. The time at my disposal does not permit of tracing in detail the history of the growth of Sanitary Science from times of ignorance and superstition to its present well-established foundation on a scientific basis, but I may at once say that it is indeed only comparatively recently that preventive as distin- guished from curative medicine has assumed the position of a science at all; it is now from a hygienic point of view, the more important of the two, though the difficulties attending its application are still considerable and largely such as arise from ignorance and incredulity. Half a century ago the great mass of the population lived and died under conditions which violated all the now well known principles on which health depends; prejudice, ignor- ance, and vested interests stood in the way of progress, and but little effort was made to correct the one or remove the others; government looked on with indifference ; the people knew little and thought less of the efficacy of pure air, pure Avater, cleanly and uncrowded dwellings, temperance, and other conditions which are now well known to be essential to health. They had no idea that infective disease is but too frequently the scourge of uncleanliness, overcrowding, and disregard of simple laws of health. Under the influence of such reformers as Chadwick, Parkes, Richardson, Simon, Southwood Smith, Sutherland, BristoAv, Buchanan, Netten Radcliff, De Chaumont, (Jorfield, Thorne, Notter, Seaton, L. Parkes, Ballard, Power, A. Hill, Armstrong, Russell, Littlejohn, Cameron, Smith, Ransom, and others, to say nothing of Sanitary Engineers such as Rawlinson, Galton, Rogers Field, HaAvkesley, Mansergh, etc., measures which Avere regarded as mere theories or fads of no practical value, are noAv accepted as of cardinal importance. Statesmen have learnt to realise that Sanitary Science comes Avell Avithin the sphere of practical politics, and that it is an important part of the duty of executive governments, Avhether general or local, to protect the people from disease Avliich may be prevented or controlled. Numerous Acts of Parliament have been passed, such as the Public Health Act of 1375, Rivers Pollution Prevention Act 1376, Public Health (Water) Act 1373, Acts for Housing
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